True talent loses to TRP chase

Talent shows on television are not the place to begin your career.

Talent shows on television are not the place to begin your career. With the public voting system in place, most who make it to the top, do so due to a lack of discernment on the part of the viewers who choose them.

Not only that, the (arguably) biased decisions and unfulfilled promises made by judges and organisers really show that the talent hunt contests are there just to boost TRPs, and have actually nothing to do with evaluating real talent.

However, some of the winners do feel that they are good for visibility. Says Vineet Singh, runner up, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest: "These shows create visibility on a very large scale. Not many people had known me before this. But in a talent hunt, nothing else should be considered except pure talent. I can't comment on them but several things happen behind the camera as well. As far as big promises by the jury are concerned, I would just say that one has to put in one's own efforts."

Though Singh discreetly points towards the drawbacks of talent shows, Mohd Waqeel, winner of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (first season) candidly admits: "I was lucky that when I participated there was no public voting system. And, I have no hitch in pointing towards the apathy of judges. When I won, Ramesh Taurani, film producer and chairman of a music company promised to sign me up for his forthcoming projects. But till date nothing has happened. Such shows should be taken just as a medium to create a face value, and not as a platform to begin a career."

The irony is that the public makes a contestant winner by voting for him but later criticises the same contestant if he's unable to perform later. Aditi Sharma, the winner of Cine Star Ki Khoj, doesn't feel very happy with the result of her achievement: "I only know that I am talented, for I was out from the show initially only to come back and win later."

Debojit, latest winner of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, is a class example: "I knew that I don't have to depend on the promises of judges. If an opportunity has to come to me, it will anyhow. Even if the talent contests don't guarantee a bright career in the film industry, it certainly gives one confidence and emotional strength, and that's why I am still in Mumbai." Adds Karunya, the runner up of Indian Idol (second season), " Though my career didn't get a boost with this show, it certainly turned me into a fighter. I am doing national and international shows while waiting for the right offer from Bollywood."

However, there are examples of outstanding talents that have been generated by talent contests earlier. One of them being singer Sunidhi Chauhan, who says, "Now that public is involved, many a times biased decisions stall the success of a real talent. Often the jury members feel helpless due to public voting. That's also why jury members dodge away from fulfiling the promises they have made. When I participated in Meri Awaaz Suno, only the expert jury judged me. And so was the case with Shreya Ghoshal, Kunal Ganjawala or Sanjeevani.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City_Supplements/Luc know_Times/True_talent_loses_to_TRP_chase/articleshow/887791 .cms